Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The subject of the present invention is a deep-frozen filled pastry which becomes crisp after microwave baking.
The crisp products which are currently on the market are based on prebaked pastries. These prebaked pastries are normally heated in a microwave. The crispness of these products is entirely due to the presence of susceptors which create temperatures of about 200xc2x0 C. in contact with the product and thus allow drying of the surface.
The baking of raw filled pastries in a microwave is delicate because the baking time is short and the filling rapidly arrives at high temperatures. In addition, the distribution of the microwaves is heterogeneous. Maillard reactions are very weak and therefore pastries cooked with microwaves have a raw flour-like taste and do not brown.
To improve external browning of these filled pastries during microwave baking, it is possible to use mechanical or chemical susceptors. U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,916 describes a process for browning a pastry using, as susceptor, a solvent such as a pure mixture or a mixture in water of polyethylene glycol or of glycerine and emulsifiers.
WO-A-96 11577 describes food products consisting of a filled or topped pastry comprising a barrier layer which comprises less than 5 percent of water and oil and at least one water-binding agent. The barrier layer, which contains no film-forming protein, serves to limit the exchange of water between the filling and the baked pastry and to thus improve the stability of the baked pastry during heating in a microwave.
EP-A-0,509,566 describes a composite pastry product comprising a layer of puff pastry and an edible water barrier layer. The barrier layer is based on fat and contains no film-forming protein. Furthermore, in this case, as in the case of WO-A-96 11577, the pastry is baked in a traditional oven (Example 1, p. 3, line 29; Example 2 is a repetition of Example 1; Example 3, page 4, line 20; Examples 4 and 5 are repetitions of Example 1). The transfer of the pastry to a microwave oven is, as in the preceding case, to defrost and/or heat (page 3, lines 44 to 47), but not to bake.
GB-A-698,762 relates to a method intended to protect raw pastry products against problems of impregnation of the pastry during long storage in the crude state in the presence of a filling containing a high water content via the interposition of a fat-based barrier layer. The composition of the barrier layer described consists of a fatty substance which is solid at the storage temperatures by virtue of a high melting point. The barrier layer may contain hydrocolloids, but there is no mention of a film-forming protein.
Only the use of a susceptor-type packaging containing, for example, a light aluminium foil can the temperatures rise to 200xc2x0 C. in microwave ovens, thus promoting the coloring and the baking of the surface of the pastry which is in contact therewith. A slight crispness is thereby obtained. However, when the shape of the product does not allow adequate contact with the susceptor during baking, the crispness of the pastry as well as the baked pastry-like taste can not be satisfactorily obtained by these processes.
These pastries also have the disadvantage of not being able to contain fillings whose temperature increases very rapidly and escape from the pastry through boiling. An increase in the water content of the filling, to allow a longer baking time for the pastry, has several undesirable consequences including the migration of water from the filling to the pastry, thus modifying and impairing the organoleptic qualities and the texture of the pastry.
The present invention proposes to remedy these disadvantages.
In the filled pastry according to the present invention, a liquid filling with a high water content is trapped in the pastry by a moisture barrier placed in contact therewith.
Exemplary non-filled pastry is a mixture of flour, fat, and water. Advantageously the mixture includes yeast, emulsifier, pentosanase, amino acids. In some embodiments the mixture may contain sugar, lactose, and/or whey.
The moisture barrier mixture advantageously contains from about 80 to about 98 percent fat, from about 7 percent to about 13 percent of a film-forming protein, and from about 0.7 to about 1.3 percent of a hydrocolloid. The fat advantageously includes medium-chain triglycerides whose melting point is between 20xc2x0 C. and 35xc2x0 C. The film-forming protein is preferably a calcium or sodium caseinate. The hydrocolloid may be an iota-type carrageenan. This moisture barrier mixture is disposed between the filling and the pastry in an amount of about 1 to about 15 g/100 cm2 and preferably between about 4 and about 8 g/100 cm2.
Such a barrier allows the use of a savory filling whose water content can reach about 85 percent. The resulting pastry product has a baked pastry-like taste and a crisp final texture after microwave baking. The crisp pastry according to the invention allows, in addition, a more rapid baking in a microwave.
The use of a susceptor is not necessary on the top part of the product. The desired color can be optionally obtained by other methods, for example incorporating a tea-based color in order to obtain the usual appearance.